Caipirinha

Brazil's national cocktail, the Caipirinha is a bracing sour built directly in the glass: lime wedges and white cane sugar are muddled to draw out juice and oils, then cut with raw, grassy cachaça over cracked ice. There is no documented inventor — the drink is understood to have emerged in the interior of São Paulo around 1918, evolving from a rustic folk remedy into a refreshing staple recognized as Brazilian cultural heritage. Tart, faintly sweet, and unmistakably sugarcane-forward.

RefreshingClassic

Ingredients

  • 2 ozCachaça
  • 1 pieceLime Wedge(one lime cut into wedges, muddled)
  • 4 tspCane Sugar(muddled with lime)

Preparation

Built · Double Old Fashioned · Crushed

  1. 1.

    add

    Add the lime wedges (from one lime) and the white cane sugar to a double old fashioned glass.

  2. 2.

    muddle

    Muddle gently to release the lime juice and oils and dissolve the sugar; avoid crushing the rind to keep out bitterness.

  3. 3.

    build

    Fill the glass with cracked or crushed ice and pour in the cachaça.

  4. 4.

    stir

    Stir gently to combine; serve in the same glass.

Flavor Profile

funky
34%
sweet
34%
earthy
23%
dilution
21%
heat
20%
herbal
20%
Open in App